1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicular steering damper mounting structure that dampens a steering directional movement transmitted from a road surface to a handlebar via a front wheel and a front fork.
2. Background of the Invention
A known vehicular steering damper mounting structure includes a tubular damper, as a steering damper, disposed between a head pipe on a side of a vehicle body frame and a bottom bridge on a side of a front fork (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2005-96735). The arrangement disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2 of Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2005-96735 will be described below.
A vehicle includes a head pipe 6h disposed at a front end of a vehicle body frame 6. A front fork 2 is steerably mounted to the head pipe 6h via a steering stem 5. The front fork 2 includes left and right fork pipes 3, 3 connected by a fork bridge 4 including a top bridge 4a and a bottom bridge 4b. The fork pipes 3, 3 support a front wheel 1 via an axle. The steering stem 5 is mounted across the top bridge 4a and the bottom bridge 4b so as to extend vertically. A handlebar 7 is fitted to the top bridge 4a. 
A tubular damper 10 includes a damper case 11 and a damper rod 12 that slides inside the damper case 11. The damper case 11 has an end mounted to the head pipe 6h, while the damper rod 12 has an end mounted to the bottom bridge 4b. 
In the arrangement disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2005-96735, the tubular damper 10 is mounted between the head pipe 6h and the bottom bridge 4b, disposed at a position between the top bridge 4a and the bottom bridge 4b on a side of the bottom bridge 4b. If, for example, a light unit, such as a headlamp or the like, is to be disposed on an upper portion of the front fork 2, the light unit is to be disposed at a space upward of the tubular damper 10. Disposing the light unit at this position results in a high optical axis of the light unit. As a result, a forward descent angle of the optical axis becomes greater when a predetermined position ahead of the vehicle is to be illuminated. This results in a smaller illumination range of a road surface in a longitudinal direction.
It is possible to dispose the light unit at a position forward of the tubular damper 10. This arrangement, however, requires that a space allowing the tubular damper 10 to rotate be secured. To allow for this space, the light unit is made to protrude forwardly, resulting in a complicated construction having only a forward upper portion of the vehicle protruding. It is then anticipated that appearance is impaired.